Crochet-machine.



I.M.MERROW.

`CROCHET MACHINE.

APPLlcAToN FILED Nov.2,19|4.

LQPL Patented Dec. 5, 19H5.

2 SHEETSMSHEET l.

m5 AUTURNEYS- 1. M. MERRUW.

CROCHET MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 2. V1914.

Lmm. Pmend Dee. 5,1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

HIS ATTURNEYS;

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JOSEPH M. MERROT, 0F HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, A..SSIGNOR T0 THE MERROW MACHINE COMPANY, .A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

CROCHET-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 5, T916.

Appncanon ined November 2, 1.914. serial No. 869,936.

T all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JosnPI-I M. MnRRow, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford, State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Crochet-Machines; and l do declare the following to be a full, clear, and eXact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the characters of reference thereon.

My invention relates, generally, to overedge sewing machines but more particularly to that variety known as shell stitch crochet machines, and my invention has for a salient object to provide a shell stitch machine embodying certain new and improved features in the feeding mechanism therefor.

Other objects of my invention are: to provide a machine particularly well suited to perform such work as applying a two course crochet finish to the edge of fabric or other material; to provide an improved crochet machine wherein the number of advance movements or feeding movements imparted by the feed dog to the material being operated upon, may be varied in relation to the number of needle penetrations of the material, and to provide a machine wherein the relative frequency of the feeding and the position of the guiding devices may be simultaneously varied.

With these and other objects in view my invention consists in the mechanism, in the structure, in the combinations of elements, and in the details of construction hereinafter set forth in the following specification and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, Figure l is a front elevation of a well known Merrow shell stitch crochet machine to which my present invention has been applied, the feed cover having been removed. Fig. 2 is an elevation of a portion of the machine shown in Fig. l parts being in different adjustment and parts being shown in section. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation in plan view taken practically on line 3-"3 of Fig. t. Fig. e is an elevation of a portion of the machine as viewed from the left of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation of the frame cap showing some of the parts mounted thereon,

taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 2 looking from the left. Fig. 6 is a rear view of the shift- 'ing lever with its adjustable stud. Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view of the shifting lever and its adjustable stud, together with a portion of the connection link pivoted on the latter. Fig. 8 is a detached, enlarged view of the shifting lever adjustable stud nut.

lhroughout the several figures of the drawings, like characters of reference denote the same parts.

The numeral l denotes an eye pointed needle carried by a needle bar 2 that is mounted to reciprocate in the usual manner in the bosses 8 and l of the head of the frame 5. rlhe needle bar is reciprocated through the needle bar clamp 6, the link 7 the needle lever 8 and the pitman 9, by the eccentric 10 which is mounted on the main shaft l1. The crochet hook is secured to its carrier 13`which is supported on the stud on the sliding block 15 operatively held by means of the gibs 16-17 to the inner face of the frame cap 18. The hook carrier 13 is provided with studs 19-2O surrounded by rolls 21-22 which lit into grooves 23 and 241: in the cams 25h26 each of which cams is provided with a toothed gear as indicated by 27 and 28, the teeth of the respective gears intermeshing. The cam 25 is secured to the main shaft l1 and the cam 26 runs loosely on the shaft 29.

The work plate 8O which supports the needle plate 3l and the chaining finger 82 is attached to the frame 5 and rests upon an upward extension of the base 33 to which latter the frame 5 is secured. The presser foot 34 is 'secured to the presser bar 35 in the usual manner.

rThe forms of the cam grooves 23 and 24 are such as to reciprocate and oscillate the crochet hook 12 above, around the edge of and below the chaining finger 32 coperating with the needle l which is adapted to carry a thread, through material which may be vplaced under the presser foot, and enchain the needle thread along the edge of the fabric by successive operations when the material is fed along. rThe feeding and the devices therefor will be explained hereinafter.

The above is a general description of the sewing or thread enchaining operation of a single thread crochet machine. A supplemental thread is howeverl generally in- A troduced and enchained with the crocheted stitches of the finish whichv produces a much handsomer and moresubstantial edge. The Vcarrier 36 for this supplemental lthread is secured to the rock shaft 37which is operatively supported at one endin the boss 4 of the machine and at the `other end in the stud 38. The rock shaft 37 is surrounded by a tension spring 39 which acts to hold the camV lever 40Y (securedV to the said rock shaft) in contact with Vthe cam 41 attached to the cam 26 so lthat when the latter revolves, the supplementalv thread carrier moves to and fro over the path ofthe crochet hook Aand under the needle thus carrying the supplemental thread into the throat of the crochet hook as will be understood by those familiarwith crochet machinesV of this type.

IV will now proceed to describe the preferred feeding devices as commonly employed in machines ofthis type when regularly producing the shell stitch crochet finish.

The eccentric 42, secured near the left end of theV mainV shaft Ill,V through the connection or pitman Y473, oscillates the angle lever 44through the adjustable bolt 45, the

said'lever 44 being pivoted on the stud 46 secured in the base of the machine. The upper Vend of the angle lever 44 is slotted to engage and drive the pin or stud 47 which is attached to the lower arm 48 of the feed dog 49 which armis supported in a groove orvrecess in the feed dog carrier 50 which latter is pivoted to the work plate upon the headed stud 51 and is pressed downward by the spring 52. The free end of the feed dog carrier is provided with an adjustable wedge 53 which rests upon one end of the pin 54 which latter rests upon the stop 55 attached to the machine base. rI he pin 54 is secured in the free end of the feed raising lever 57 which is pivotally supported upon the stud 58.

The end of the main shaft 11 is provided with gear teeth forming a pinion as indicated at 59. This pinion meshes into the feed gear 60 which is rotatably supported upon the stud 61 attached to a block62 which in turn, is secured to the vertical face of the base of the machine. The feed Vgear 60 contains a number-of teeth divisidisposedand attached to the inner face of the said feed gear and as the latter is rotatedvthe cams 63 andV 64 may raise the teeth of the feed dog above the work plate through the roll 56, pin 54, the wedge 53,

and the feed dog carrier 50, twice for each complete revolution of the said feed gear and the feed dog will be permitted to fall by the cams 63 and 64 and will be carried downward by the spring 52 until the free end of the feed dog carrier is supported by the stop 55 as before explained. At each revolution of the main shaft the stitch forming devices make a complete cycle of operations while the feed gear will make but a portion of a revolution and the feed dog will remain in its downward position at all times excepting when one of the cams 63 or 64 is at or near its upward position. The feed dog reciprocates horizontally at each revolution of the main shaft but the feed dog teeth remain below the upper face of the work plate during several cycles of the stitch forming mechanism during which period the needle penetrates the fabric several times at practically the same point and several loops of its thread are made at the edge of the fabric thus forming by the crochet hook a cluster of crochet stitches which cluster is called a shell. When the feed dog is at or near the backward end of its stroke c'. e. toward the right in Fig. 4, it is raised by means of one of the cams 63 or 64, and is held raised until at or near the other end of its stroke when it is permitted to drop, thus feeding the fabric forward a suitable distance regulatable by adjusting the bolt 45 in the slot in the angle lever 44.

Hereinabove is a generaldescription of a shell stitch machine in common use and I will now proceed to describe my present invention as embodied in such a machine.

The roll 56 and the end of the pin 54 upon which the said roll is mounted is made of sufficient length to reach across the whole thickness of the cam 64 with a margin of clearance and the cain .63 `is made only about half the thickness of the cam 64.

The feed raising lever 57 which as has been explained is pivotally supported upon the stud 58 is also slidable bodily upon said stud by means of the yoke 65 which is slotted to engage the feed raising lever on both sides thus controlling its longitudinal position on its stud 58 but permitting its swinging or pivotal movement thereon. For convenience the yoke 65 is olf set back as shown best in Fig. 3 and is separably secured to the slide 66 which is slidably mounted in a dovetail slot 67 in the frame cap 18 and is provided with a thumb knob 68 for convenience in operating it by hand. When the knob 68 is adjusted to the left as shown in Fig. 1 the roll 56 and pin 54 will be in their left hand position as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 and consequently the feed will be raised by each of the cams 63 and 64 at each revolution of the feed gear 60, the feeding therefore occurring twice for each revolution of said feed gear, producing, in the proportions of gearing shown, four crochet stitches for each cluster or shell. Vhen however, the thumb knob 68 is adjusted to the right the roll 56 and its pin will be carried correspondingly and will be out of the line of travel of the thin cam 63 yet remain within the path of the thicker cam 64 as best shown in Fig. 2 and therefore only the cam 64 will cause the feed to be raised; hence twice the number of crochet stitches will be produced in each cluster or shell upon the fabric by the stitch forming mechanism, and thus by adjusting the knob 68 the change from one size of shell to another can be made, even while the machine is in operation.

In practice the shells formed with the smaller number of stitches are used for the first course of finish frequently upon a raw or cut edge of fabric and it is desirable to have the needle penetrate the fabric at a greater distance from the edge than upon an edge previously finished either with the shell stitch or other finish and when a second course of shell stitch finish is to be made upon the garment or fabric it is frequently desirable to have the needle penetrate the first course of finish as nearly as possible to the very outer edge of the first course finish, and to accomplish such result I have supplemented the feed shifting mechanism with coperating edge shifting devices. The shifting lever 69 is slotted at its lower end as best shown in Fig. 6, where it loosely straddles the reduced portion of the thumb knob 68 as shown in Fig. 5, and is pivotally secured to the frame cap 18 by the shoulder screw 70. The upper end of the shifting lever is provided with a curved slot 71 which is rabbeted on Jthe rear side as at 72 (see Fig. 6) for the reception of the head of the nut 73 which nut is fiattened as at 74 to loosely fit the slot 71 to prevent the nut from turning but permit it to be moved from one end of the slot to the other end. The screw 75 fits the nut 73 and carries the ring or washer 76 which is a little larger than the width of the groove 71 in the shifting lever and thus when the screw is tightened the nut will be held in position and can be adjusted to any location in the slot 71. The screw 75, washer 76 and nut 73 form an adjustable stud upon which one end of the connection 77 is mounted the opposite end of which is operatively secured by the shoulder screw 78 to the slide 79 which is slidably supported in a dovetail groove 80 in the upper part of the face of the frame cap 18. To the slide 79 is adjustably secured the edge guide 81 by means of the screw 82. By adjusting the nut 73 upward the edge guide 8l will be carried to a greater distance than by adjusting the said nut downward, for a given angular movement of the shifting lever and thus will guide the fabric so that the needle will penetrate at a corresponding distance from the edge of the fabric. The curve and direction of the slot 71 in the shifting lever 69 are such that any adjustment of the nut 73 will not alter the position of the edge guide 8l when the latter is in its left position i. e. when it is nearest to the line of needle penetration, and in its use, then the edge guide 8l is adjusted or set in its desired position by the screw 82. When the said guide is nearest the needle for instance, as shown in Fig. 2, the needle will penetrate at or near to the very edge of the foundation finish. When the edge guide is moved by its shifting mechanism, away from the needle the latter will be permitted to penetrate the fabric (or the finish thereon) farther from the edge z'. e. deeper into the fabric and the degree of depth can be varied by adjusting the nut 73 in the curved slot 7l without affecting the position of the edge guide 8l when it is again moved, by the shifting devices, back to its position nearest the line of needle penetration.

As usually and preferably operated the first course of finish along the edge of the fabric is made of a suitable depth into the material while the shifting devices are adjusted practically as shown in Fig. 1, z'. e. with the thumb knob in its left position and hence the pin 54 with its roll 56 are in a position to be acted upon in turn by each of the cams 63 and 64 and the edge guide 8]. is in its right hand position.

Friction spring 83, (see Figs. 2 and 5) is y placed back of the slide 66 in a shallow cavity in the bottom of the dovetail groove 67, the spring being somewhat curved or bowed so that it is constrained by the slide 66, the resulting pressure against said slide serving to hold it and its connected parts in their adjusted position.

After the edge of the material has been finished with one course of clusters or shells a second course can be made connecting into the very edge of the first course by shifting the thumb knob to the right throwing the edge guide to the left and the pin 54 with its roll 56 to the right so that only the thick cam 64 can operate to raise the feed, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. rIhe resulting finish will be a series of clusters of crochet stitches well secured into the fabric near its` edge and a second series of clusters or shells f of crochet stitches each shell consisting of a much larger number of stitches than contained in each of the clusters of the first course. The devices as illustrated are intended to produce twice the number of stitches per shell in the finish course as are made in the primary or foundation course.

The effect of feeding the fabric approximately the same distance for a small cluster as for a larger cluster is to produce a much tighter edge for thek smaller clusters than proportions of the shells and the length of the feed, which can be regulated to produce a tight edge at the primary or foundation course to 'prevent undue stretching of the goods while the4 second course of shells will be more ample and more ornamental.

Thel drawings are intended to represent a combination for producing four stitch clusters for the primary course and eight stitch shells for the second or more ornate course but I am not confined to these relations as the feedgear 60 may b emade of'any suitable proportions tov the pinion 59'andany lsuitableV number of cams-suchas 63 or 64C may be employed at suitable locations upon thefeed gear 60, or the cams couldbe mounted and actuated in any suitable known manner. Itis also obvious that the roll 56 isnot an essential detail and itis Aalso clear that the swinging end of the lever 57may be formed to dispense with the removable pin 54C, the form a-nd construction Y shown being preferred as best adaptedto the present locations andarrangements of several elements.

Having thus described my invention I now claim,

l. In a crochet machine, and in combination with the stitch forming mechanism and feeding mechanism thereof, a plurality of cams and a lever operatively associated with the feeding mechanism and movable into the path of one or more of said cams whereby the fabric may be advanced accordingly after a greater or lesser number of stitches have been formed.

2'. In a crochet machine, and in combination with the stitch forming Vmechanism and feeding mechanism thereof, including two or more cams, a lever, laterally movable into and out of the respective paths of some 'of said cams, an operative connection between said lever and the feeding devices whereby the lateral movement of the said lever will vary the number of feeding operations in relation to the number of Stitch forming operations, means for supporting the said laterally movable lever and means for moving it laterally.

3. In a crochet machine, and in combination with the stitch forming mechanism and feeding mechanism, two dissimilar feed raising cams, an element which may be moved alternately intothe path of both of said feed raisingcams or intoA the path of only one of them, the said movable element having voperative .e connection with the feed whereby the fabric may be advanced at Copies of this patent may be obtained for variable times in relation to the operations of the stitch forming mechanism.

il. In a crochet machine, and in combination with the stitch forming devices thereof, a longitudinally reciprocating feed dog, a gear rotating once for several cycles of stitching, a plurality 'of cams secured to said gear, and a feed raising lever movable to interpose the swinging end thereof into the path of one or more of said cams whereby the feed may be affected at times variable in relation to the stitching.

5. In a crochet machine, and in combination with the stitch forming and feeding mechanism, means for varying the times of the feeding relative to that of the stitching operations, a movable fabric edge guide with means for its support, and a cooperative connection between the fabric guide and the means for varying the feeding operations.

6. In a crochet machine including stitch forming mechanism and feeding mechanism provided with devices for varying the times of feeding including a laterally movable lever, in combination with a yoke or operative connection with said lever, means for supporting said yoke, a fabric edge guide with means for supporting it and a pivoted lever operatively connected with said edge guide and with said yoke whereby the movement of the edge guide is in reverse to that of the yoke.

`7. In a crochet machine such as described,

including means for varying the times of feeding in relation to the cycles of stitch forming; and in combination therewith, a movable fabric edge guide, a cooperative connection of said edge guide with the feed varying devices, and means for adjusting the amplitude of movement of the fabric guide.

8. In a machine of the class described and in combination with means for varying the number of feeding operations in relationto the number of operations of the stitch forming mechanism, a movable fabric edge guide, means for varying its amplitude of movement formed and located so that the varying extremes of movement of said guide will be located at one end of said movement, whereby the said guide will always remain in one position at one end of its range for various adjustments of the devices for varying the amplitude of movement of said guide.

JOSEPH M. MERROVV.

Witnesses:

F. W. SPELLMAN, F. E. ANDERSON.

ve cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

